BUSINESS BRIEFS
Gas prices could go down 17 cents
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Gasoline prices next week could fall 17 cents a gallon as Hawai'i's price cap forces wholesale prices down. However, because the caps don't set retail prices, there's no guarantee prices will go down. Between Feb. 20 and 26 the maximum wholesale price for regular on O'ahu will be $1.78 a gallon, the Public Utilities Commission said yesterday. That excludes taxes and a retail markup.
KO OLINA CREDIT REPEAL BILL HELD
A bill proposing to repeal $75 million in state tax credits for developers to build an aquarium at Ko Olina Resort & Marina appears dead after the state House Tourism & Culture Committee voted Tuesday to hold the bill.
The vote to prevent the bill from advancing was unanimous from the nine-member committee. Two members expressed reservations, and one was excused from voting.
ONLINE LICENSE RENEWALS PICK UP
The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs said 2005 was its most successful year yet for the online renewal of professional licenses.
The department said 58 percent of the roughly 25,000 license renewals in areas such as dentistry, barbering and chiropractic were done online. That was more than double the number of licenses that were renewed online during the previous renewal cycle.
"The 2005 renewal statistics represent a breakthrough in the department's efforts to deliver services online," said Mark Recktenwald, DCCA director.
HP FIRST-QUARTER PROFITS RISE 30%
As Mark Hurd approached the end of his first year as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co., the computer maker yesterday said that first-quarter profit soared 30 percent on cost-cutting and strong sales of notebook computers and printing supplies.
Shares of Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP gained more than 3.5 percent. HP reported a profit of $1.2 billion, or 42 cents per share, compared with earnings of $943 million, or 32 cents a share, in the first quarter of last year. Revenue was $22.7 billion, up 5.6 percent. Operating profit was 48 cents a share.
